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1. Electrostatics

1.1: Electrostatics- Charge and Coulomb's Law 

- The 2 types of charge: positive and negative 
- Like charges repel and opposite charges attract 
- Conservation of charge: the net charge is always conserved 
- Conductors: Allows charge to move through it (so the charge will only be on the 
surface) 
- Example: Copper wire 
- Insulators: Restrict the movement of charge (charge is distributed throughout) 
- Example: Plastic sheath 
- You can charge an object through friction 
- Or through induction (and grounding) 
- Has no physical contact 

-  
- Coulomb's Law: 

- Allows you to find electrostatic force  

- Use absolute value  
- F​e​ is a vector quantity and should be broken into components if needed 
- θ = arctan(y/x) 
- If the charges are in the same direction you add the forces 
- If the charges are in opposite directions, you subtract the forces 

1.2, 1.3, and 1.5: Electrostatics- Electric Field and Electric Potential 
- Always is in the direction that a POSITIVE “test” charge would move 
- The amount of force PER “test” charge 

- E-field equation:  
- E is a vector-quantity so you must break into xy-components and sum as follows:

 
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- ONLY for point charges (use abs value):  

- When integrating the E-field equation you will often have to use one of the following 
charge density definitions: 
- Linear Charge Density: 

-  
- If the object in question is of uniform charge density, then:  

-  
- Surface Charge Density: 

-  
- If the object in question is of uniform charge density, then:  

-  
- Volume Charge Density: 

-  
- If the object in question is of uniform charge density, then:  

-  
- Common E-field Formulas: 
Note: For a hoop it should be noted for 
r >>> radius of the hoop. 
For the disk, it is for a point very close 
to the disk. 
For the Line, rod, cylinder: it is for 
infinite line/rod and infinite cylinders. 
 
- On objects which have locations of great curvatures 
- Electric Field outside of the sharply curved surfaces is the greatest 
- Charge accumulates on locations of great curvature 
- Electric Potential is the same everywhere on the surface 
- Electric Potential (Joules/Coulombs): 
- Potential Formula (image to the right) 
- When using the above formula you DO take the sign 
of the charge into account and you just add the 
charges since Potential is a scalar quantity. 
- You can also find electric potential by integrating -E with respect to r.  
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E-field Common Integrations: 

1.4: Electrostatics - Gauss's Law

Disclaimer: Gauss’ law is one of those things that becomes easiest to understand through 
examples/practice

Gauss’ Law requires a high degree of ​SYMMETRY! 

There are 3 main “eligible” charge distributions: infinite line of 
charge/long rod, spherical distribution, an infinite plane of 
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charge. For the ​line/rod​, a ​Gaussian cylinder​ is most useful; for the ​sphere​, a ​Gaussian sphere​; 
for the ​plane​, both a ​Gaussian cylinder ​or​ rectangular prism​ will do. Note: To find the electric 
field at a point away from the source, the point must lay on the surface of your Gaussian figure 
around it. Reminders: E field inside a conductor is always ​zero​! Consequently, the potential 
inside a conductor is ​constant​! 
 
 

Gauss’ Law (reads: the closed integral of the electric field E 

dotted with an area element dA (electric flux) is equal to the 
charge enclosed within the area element divided by the 
permittivity of free space): 
L
E (2πrL) = 1/ε o ∫ dq = 1/ε o ∫ λdl = λL/ε o ⇒ E = λ/(2πrε o ) or E = 2kλ/r
0

Best Approach for Using Gauss’ Law  

1. Determine origin/source of field (usually charge distribution of some sort) 
a. Remember that electric field diverges positively from any positive charge 
b. Ignore the other components of dA that are not in the same direction as the 
field (because of dot products), because otherwise, Gauss’ law won’t work 
2. Take dA that’s normal to the Gaussian Surface 
a. The Gaussian surface should always be symmetrical to the charge distribution 
3. Find the amount of charge enclosed 
4. Plug it all into Gauss’ law 
a. Solve for E 
b. Find direction of E by just thinking a bit where it came from 

   
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2. Conductors, Capacitors, Dielectrics 

2.0: Relevant Equations 

2.1: Conductors 
If given spheres connected by a thin metal wire, equilibrium is reached when electric potentials 
for each sphere are equal. 
 
A charge only exists on the surface of a conductor (the field on all “inside” parts is 0). For a 
conducting sphere, E=0 everywhere inside (as charges can move and thus separate) and far 
away, it acts like a point charge. 
For a conducting sphere, V is the same everywhere inside the sphere. 
 
Graph for a nonconducting sphere of radius R that has a charge of +Q uniformly distributed: 
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2.2: Capacitors
A Capacitor is two parallel plates, with one side charged positively and the other negatively 

 
Capacitance is in Farads aka Coulomb/Volts 
 

 
General Equation | Parallel Plate 
 
Capacitors in Series: 

 
 
 
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Capacitors in Parallel: 
 

 
 

Energy: Capacitors store energy through electric fields:

Spherical Capacitors: 

 
Voltage for spherical capacitor: 
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Cylindrical Capacitors: 

And the voltage is:  

2.3: Dielectrics 
A Dielectric is an insulator placed between the two plates of a capacitor.  
Why/when is a dielectric used? 
- A dielectric is used to induce an electric field that opposes the electric field from the 
charges on each plate so that the net effect is a net electric field with less magnitude 
than before. This allows for more energy to be stored. 
- Can place several different dielectric materials between two plates in a capacitor 
 
Dielectrics can be placed in one of 2 ways: 
1. (The Normal way): 
a. In this case, what changes depends on ​if​ the battery stays connected:  
i. Voltage is held constant (you stay connected to a battery) and you insert 
a dielectric: 
1. Q=VC and if C increases and V stays the same, Q must increase 
to maintain the equality. 
ii. The voltage is NOT held constant (the battery is disconnected) and you 
insert a dielectric: 
1. Since V=-∫E·dr if V decreases then the magnitude of E will 
decrease as well (assuming the charge remains constant). 
2. In (Makes a Capacitor split into 2 Capacitors in Series): 
 
When you see a question like this, the 
first thing you should do is analyze the 
problem and realize that the metal sheet 
divides the capacitor into 2 capacitors in 
series with each other (Note: you can tell 
this since they don’t give you kappa). 
Each individual capacitor has half the 
distance and thus twice the original 
capacitance. Then just add them in 
series to find the effective capacitance.  
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,  
 
Algebraic relationships: 

3. Electric Circuits

3.1: Current and Resistance 

Ohm’s Law: 
- Voltage is proportional to Current 
- V = IR 
Kirchhoff’s Rules: 
- Loop Rule: 
- ∑ V = 0 
- Choose a loop and start somewhere on it adding all potentials until you return 
to your starting point on that loop.  
- Note that the potential added is negative if the last lead passed is 
negative (for capacitors or batteries/voltage sources) 
- Note that the potential added is negative if the direction you choose to 
go in the loop is opposite conventional current (for resistors) 
- Junction Rule: 
- ∑ I​in​ = ∑ I​out​ for any junction that branches out 

3.2: Power 

When to use which power equation:

3.3: DC Circuits (Batteries and Resistors Only) 

Common Terms you should know: 
- Steady-state is defined as when the capacitor is fully charged 

For circuits in series:

As stated by Krochoff’s loop rule: The sum of all the separate drops in potential around a series
circuit is equal to the potential rise of the battery
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The current in all parts of a series circuit has the same magnitude:

If you have multiple resistors in series, it is equivalent to one resistor with the resistance of the
sum of the individual resistances.

For circuits in parallel:

The Voltage in each branch is equivalent:

As stated by Kirchoff’s junction rule:

Equivalent Resistor:

3.4: RC Circuits and Capacitors 

Circuit Capacitor rules: 
● Charging 
When Capacitor switch is immediately closed (t=0), the capacitor acts like a wire 
allowing current to flow, but the capacitor itself is uncharged  
When capacitor switch is left on for a long time (t=∞), the capacitor blocks all 
current flowing through it, and acts like an open switch 
● Discharging 
dQ/dt is negative when discharging. This is the most forgotten thing in this 
class. Do not forget to make dQ/dt negative when discharging. 
But basically when the battery is disconnected (usually done by opening a switch 
between the battery and the capacitor) 
● Time constant 
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Represented by the greek letter tau: 𝛕 

 
Measured in seconds. 𝛕=1-1/e=63.2% 
Physically means how quickly the capacitor charges. If RC is small the 
capacitor charges quickly; if RC is large the capacitor charges more slowly. 
The time constant is also the duration in seconds during which the current 
through a capacities circuit becomes 36.7 percent of its initial value. 

Basic RC Circuit charging derivation:

Start with Kirchoff’s Loop Rule: 

Basic RC Circuit discharging derivation:

It is important to note that since the circuit is 
now discharging,  

 
 
The solution is reminiscent of how we got the 
charging RC Charge equation: Kirchhoff's Loop 
Rule and a Separable Differential Equation. 
Note that Q is integrated from Q​0​ to Q and 
not 0 to Q as we did before. 

 
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Charging and discharging graphs for basic RC Circuit:

 
 
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Examples 

1.1: Coulomb’s Law 

 
Spheres A, B, and C carry charges +Q, -2Q, and 3Q, respectively. The spheres are arranged on 
a horizontal axis as shown in the figure. The force exerted by sphere A on sphere C is 4N to the 
right. What is the net force exerted on sphere C by both spheres? 
F​AC​ = 4N ​to the right​ = 3kQ²/(3d)² = 3kQ²/(9d²) = kQ²/(3d²) 
F = kQ²/d² = 12N 
Important Note: Use absolute value when calculating  
F​BC​ = 6kQ²/(2d)² = 6kQ²/(4d²) = 3kQ²/(2d²) = 3/2F = 18N ​to the left 
Since F​AC​ and F​BC​ are in opposite directions, you subtract them 
∑F​C​ = F​BC​ - F​AC​ = 18N - 4N = ​14N to the left 

1.2, 1.3, and 1.5: Electrostatics- Electric Field  

Since E​y​ = 0 N/C due to symmetry, E = E​x​. Thus the E-field

 
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1.2, 1.3, and 1.5: Electrostatics- Electric Potential 

 
 

 
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1.4: Electrostatics - Gauss's Law 

 
A very large nonconducting slab with a uniform positive volume charge density r0 is fixed with 
the origin of the xyz-axes at its center, as shown in the figure above. The thickness of the slab is 
d, the length is L, and the width is W, where L d and W d . The large faces of the slab are 
parallel to the xy-plane. Consider a Gaussian cylinder with a cross-sectional area A and height h 
that is positioned with its axis along the z-axis, as shown in the figure below. 

 
(a) Draw a single vector on each of the dots below representing the direction of the 
electric field at the given points. If the electric field at either point is zero, write “E = 0” 
next to the point. 

 
(b) Use Gauss’s law to derive expressions for the following. Express your answers in 
terms of r0 , A, d, h, z, and physical constants, as appropriate.  
i. Derive an expression for the total flux Φ through the Gaussian surface shown. 
ii. Derive an expression for the magnitude of the electric field as a 
function of z for any position inside the slab, and show that it is 
equal to the following equation: 
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Answers to this FRQ ​here 

2.1: Conductors, Capacitors, Dielectrics - Electrostatics with Conductors 

A neutral, solid, spherical conductor with a radius of R is placed on an insulated 
stand as shown. Students are to perform an experiment to investigate the 
behavior of charge on this conductor. 
 
In order to charge the conductor, one student brings a positively charged rod 
close to the conductor, and another student connects a grounding wire to the 
opposite side of the conductor. The student then takes the wire away. The rod 
is also taken away. 
(a) After the above procedure, what will be the sign of the charge on the sphere? 
➔ Negative. When the positive rod is brought close to the sphere, it will attract negative 
charges to it. The grounding wire will allow excess negative charges to be attracted on 
to the sphere. When the grounding wire is removed and then the rod is removed, the 
sphere will have gained excess negative charges. 
 
The sphere acquires a charge of magnitude Q. 
(b) Using Gauss’s law, determine the magnitude of the electric field at the following locations. 
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i. r < R 
➔ E = 0 N/C 
ii. r = R 

➔  
iii) r > R 

➔  
(c) Determine the magnitude of the electric potential at the following locations. 
i. r > R 

➔  
ii. r = R 

➔  
iii. r < R 

➔  
 
 
 
 
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2.2: Spherical Capacitors 

a) ,  
b i) E=0 
ii) E=kQ₀/r²=296/r² 
iii) E=0 
iv) E=0 

c)  
d) C=Q₀/V=4.4E-11 F 

 
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2.3: Dielectrics 

 
A parallel-plate capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by a distance D as 
shown above. The plates may be considered very large so that the effects of the edges may be 
ignored. The two plates have an equal but opposite surface charge per unit area, σ. The 
charge on either plate resides entirely on the inner surface facing the opposite plate.  
 
(a) On the diagram below draw the electric field lines in the region between the plates. 
 

 
(b) By applying Gauss's law to the rectangular box whose upper surface lies entirely 
within the top conducting plate, as shown in the following diagram, determine the 
magnitude of the electric field E in the region between the plates. 

 
(c) In terms of given values, find the difference in potential between the two plates. 
 
(d) A dielectric is inserted and fills the region between the plates. Is the electric field 
greater than, less than, or equal to the electric field when there is no dielectric? 
Describe the mechanism responsible for this effect. Recognize that the plates are not 
connected to a battery. 
 
Answers are on ​this link here 
 
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3.1: Current and Resistance 

 
A battery with EMF ε and internal resistance r is connected to a variable resistance R. The 
graph of terminal voltage VAB as a function of the current I is presented on the axes above.  
a. Determine the EMF of the battery.  
b. Determine the internal resistance of the battery.  
c. Determine the value of resistance R that will produce current I = 5 A.  
d. Determine the maximum current that can be produced by the battery.  
e. The graph above was obtained by measuring voltage and current with a voltmeter 
and an ammeter. On the diagram below, complete the circuit with appropriate 
connection of those two devices. 

 
 
Answers on next page 
 
 
 
 
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3.2 and 3.3: Power and DC Circuits (Batteries and Resistors Only) 

 
The circuit shown above is constructed with two 6.0 V batteries and three resistors with the 
values shown. The currents 1I , 2I , and 3I in each branch of the circuit are indicated.  
 
(a)  
i. Using Kirchhoff’s rules, write, but DO NOT SOLVE, equations that can be used 
to solve for the current in each resistor.  
ii. Calculate the current in the 200 Ω resistor.  
iii. Calculate the power dissipated by the 200 Ω resistor. The two 6.0 V batteries 
are replaced with a battery with voltage ε and a resistor of resistance 50 Ω, as 
shown above. The voltmeter V shows that the voltage across the 200 Ω resistor 
is 4.4 V.  

 
The two 6.0 V batteries are replaced with a battery with voltage ε and a resistor of resistance 
50 Ω, as shown above. The voltmeter V shows that the voltage across the 200 Ω resistor is 4.4 
V. 
 
(b) Calculate the current through the 50 Ω resistor.  
(c) Calculate the voltage e of the battery. 
 
Answers on ​this link here 
 
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3.4: RC Circuits and Capacitors 

7 points, suggested time: 8 minutes 

The student now makes a capacitor using the same aluminum foil plates and just one sheet of 
paper. Using the experimentally determined dielectric constant, the student calculates the 
capacitance to be 18 nF. The student uses this uncharged capacitor to build a circuit using 
wire, a 36 V battery, 3 identical 80 Ω resistors, and an open switch, as shown in the figure 
above.  
 
(a) Calculate the current in the battery immediately after the switch is closed.  
(b) Determine the time constant for this circuit.  
(c) Students A and B measure the time it takes after the switch is closed for the voltage across 
the capacitor to reach half its maximum value and find that it is longer than expected. 
i. Student A assumes that the capacitance value is correct. Would Student A conclude 
that the resistance value is larger or smaller than measured? 
____ Larger than measured ____ Smaller than measured  
Explain experimentally what could account for this.  
ii. Student B assumes that the resistance value is correct. Would Student B conclude 
that the capacitance value is larger or smaller than measured? 
____ Larger than measured ____ Smaller than measured  
Explain experimentally what could account for this. 

 
Answers on next page 
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